New Delhi:
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and his hasty departure from Damascus bears hanging parallels to the chaotic occasions that unfolded in Bangladesh earlier this 12 months when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was compelled to flee the nation amidst widespread protests.
On December 8, Syrian rebels captured the capital, Damascus, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia. This marked a flip in Syria’s long-running civil warfare, which had ravaged the nation for over a decade. The collapse of Assad’s authorities got here after a collection of navy setbacks, together with the desertion of key navy officers and the breakdown of Syria’s defensive strains. His departure marked the top of a 24-year autocratic rule.
Similarly, in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina was compelled to flee the nation in August after violent protests erupted over the reinstatement of a controversial authorities job quota system. The unrest escalated as the federal government’s brutal response killed tons of and led to a major erosion of political assist, forcing Sheikh Hasina to resign.
After Assad fled, his household’s palaces had been shortly overrun by rebels. The Al-Rawda and Muhajreen presidential palaces, as soon as symbols of Assad’s energy, turned websites of loot and vandalism. Rebel teams flooded into these grand buildings, taking pictures within the lavishly embellished rooms, hauling away furnishings and scattering belongings throughout the marble flooring. Items reminiscent of chairs, vases and priceless ornaments had been seized as symbols of the regime’s falL. Storerooms had been ransacked for any useful remnants of the fallen authorities.
This scene of riot mirrored the occasions in Bangladesh in August. When Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, protesters stormed her residence, Ganabhaban, looting meals, kitchen gadgets and furnishings. Personal belongings, together with sarees, a Dior suitcase and even a reproduction of the Hilsa fish, Bangladesh’s nationwide image, had been taken or destroyed. A viral picture confirmed a person lounging on Hasina’s mattress, declaring, the constructing “below our management.”
This Sunday, the US launched a collection of airstrikes concentrating on Islamic State (ISIS) positions in Syria, following the autumn of the Syrian authorities. Following the seize of Damascus, reviews confirmed that Bashar al-Assad, alongside along with his household, fled to Moscow and was granted asylum by the Russian authorities. It marked an finish to the Assad household’s six-decade rule over Syria.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) chief Abu Mohammed al-Jolani additionally addressed a crowd in Damascus on Sunday. He mentioned, “A brand new historical past, my brothers, is being written in the complete area after this nice victory.” The rebels started their offensive on November 27, the identical day a ceasefire was declared in neighbouring Lebanon, the place Israel had been engaged in a battle with the Iran-backed Hezbollah.